A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to routing systems and, more particularly, to systems and methods that select optimal routes in a network where some information about future states is available.
B. Description of Related Art
Conventional routing systems are reactive. When a failure occurs, protocol mechanisms eventually detect the failure and implement appropriate repair measures. While detection and repairs proceed, packets attempting to transit the point of failure may be lost.
A second problem is that repair measures (e.g., new routes) may be implemented at different times on different routers. The router that detects the network failure likely reacts first, with subsequent routers reacting when notified of the failure. Notification typically depends on how many hops the routers are from the router originally detecting the failure. Until this rolling reaction wave reaches all of the participating routers, temporary routing loops may exist that can cause additional packet loss.
These problems take on added significance in wireless networks, when mobile routers and wireless communication come into play. Wireless networks exhibit much more dynamic topologies. For example, a router may progress from having no connectivity with a group of other routers, to full connectivity, to no connectivity again in a very short time interval. This makes detecting and repairing network failures more complex.
As a result, a need exists for systems and methods that address the deficiencies in conventional routing systems by using predictive routing to optimally select routes in a network.